Northamptonshire Steelbacks kick off their mini road trip as they face Derbyshire Falcons today for the first of 3 consecutive away games.
The Steelbacks face Derbyshire Falcons today, Worcestershire Rapids on Friday then Lancashire Lightning on Sunday before having five home Vitality Blast games in a row.
Darren Lehmann’s side have won two from two in the competition, having beat Yorkshire in a high scoring thriller at Headingley and Leicestershire Foxes in a low scoring encounter at Wantage Road.
Derbyshire lost their opener against the Foxes by five wickets, but will be keen to put on a strong performance for their first home Blast game of the season.
Opponent preview:
Derbyshire Falcons
Preview by Nigel Gardner for ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Samit Patel
Overseas players: Caleb Jewell (Australia, all group stage), Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (Afghanistan, all group stage).
2024 finish: Sixth (North Group)
2024 leading runscorer: Wayne Madsen (336)
2024 leading wicket taker: Pat Brown (22)
Key winter moves: Jewell provides both quality at the top of the order and a winning mentality after he helped Hobart Hurricanes lift the Big Bash trophy for the first time last winter. Martin Andersson was top scorer for Middlesex in last year’s Blast and the all-rounder is set to play a key role for the Falcons this summer.